I
Small Pairs When playing poker
online you will frequently find yourself in tricky
situations and how you deal with them will off course
have a great impact on your overall result.

In
Texas holdem some starting hands can get you into trouble
if you play them in the wrong way. But one of the easiest
and most straight forward hands to play is small pairs.
Pocket pairs below 88 are usually referred to as small
pairs.

These
pairs should be played with caution, but can be profitable
if you handle them the right way. Generally you want
to play them in late position, your aim is to limp in,
but you can also call a small raise. The goal when playing
a small pocket pair is to flop a set (three of a kind).
With a pocket pair your odds to hit a set (or a better
hand) on the flop is 7.5-1. If you miss the flop and
someone bets you should usually discard the hand. Rarely
slow play your sets, only when the board is really unthreatening
and you think that your opponents might have missed
it completely.

If
that is the case you want them to catch up a bit in
order to pay off your big hand. But you should usually
come out betting. Your opponents will rarely put you
on a set and are likely to call you with a top pair,
or even better, put in a re-raise. You also want them
to pay you off if they are on a draw Ė a set can easily
be outdrawn by a straight or a flush. But make your
opponents pay to do so. If you miss your set you should
usually give up the pot.

You
can bet to try to pick up the pot if the other players
check to you, but back down if any of them show strength.
Sometimes you can also stay in the pot if you pick up
an open ended straight draw. Say you hold 66 and the
flop comes 457. It is definitely justified to call here,
or even raise. You have a good draw and might have the
best hand.

Try
to limp in with small pairs, preferably in late position.
Always treat them as drawing hands and be prepared to
release them if you donít flop a set. As long as you
follow these easy step small pairs can be definitely
be a profitable hand to play both online and in your
local poker
room.